ElfiePoo

Don't look to the band to restrict the quantity you eat. It doesn't work that way for me or for a lot of people. Look for the cessation of hunger for about 4 hours after a meal. You should be able to eat without gravies and sauces which basically turn your food into sliders. Try eating a meal of 3 oz of Protein and 1/2 cup of vegies and (if you're still hungry) 1/4 cup of rice or potatoes. Don't drink for 30 minutes after a meal. You want your meal to put additional pressure on the band area to activate the vagus nerves which tell your stomach to stop producing ghrelin, the hunger hormone. Then go find something to keep you busy and your mind off food. If you can go 4 hours without hunger, then you're already at your sweet spot. You may actually be past it since you're still pbing and sliming. Anyway...just my .02. .

When I/we ask someone if they've tried something or suggest they try something, it's not that I/we believe they're stupid. It's because I/we don't know whether they know or have tried these suggestions. We have to start somewhere. .

Nah...that would be too 'mahogany' for him. I'm thinking one of those orange alley cats might be his best bet for a color match. .

What? Did I refer to a thread? <wide eyed, innocent look> .

Kassy, I was up to 8.75cc in a 14cc band, still able to eat in quantity but now was getting stuck on eggs and chicken and bread was a dim memory. After a long conversation with my surgeon (because I wanted a complete unfill), he said this meant I had too much fill. They were going to take me down slowly, but I was so fed up (thought the band wasn't working because I could still eat in quantity when I was supposedly overfilled) that I told him to take it all out. Wow! I discovered within 24 hours that the band had been working all along! I did not realize until the hunger came back that what I 'thought' was hunger...was not. A week later I went back in and begged for my fill back. They couldn't give me more than 6cc but within minutes, the hunger was completely gone! Now, at 6cc I can eat anything I *want*. I never get stuck. I never slime. I eat 2 eggs and 2 sl of bacon for Breakfast, 3 oz of Protein and 1/2 cup vegies for lunch and the same for dinner (with 1/4 cup rice, potatoes or beans). I can go 4 hours before 'normal' hunger tells me I need to start fixing my meal. Please don't give up. Maybe the answer is to have them do a slight unfill to find that point where you can eat without sliming and PBing, but not be hungry for 4 hours after a meal. .

Fluffy, You've obviously made up your mind that the band does not work for you. You are the only one who really knows whether that is true. Nobody, certainly not me, is making a judgment about you and or band...or anyone and their band. What we're trying to do here is help others who are having difficulty with their band, perhaps bringing something to their attention that they didn't know before. I'm hoping they won't just throw their hands up in the air and call it quits because of your opinionated belief that the band doesn't work for 'most' people. The only thing that is true is that it didn't work for *you*. .

But...after you eat a reasonable meal (e.g. 3 oz of Protein, 1/2 cup of vegies, 1/4 cup of starch), can you go 4 hours without being hungry? If so, then you're at your sweet spot. Don't look for physical restriction. Even when I was overfilled and sliming and PBing at every meal, I could still eat as much as I could pre-band. Now I have 6cc in a 14cc band and am doing great. .

Your doctor is right. If you can go 4 hours after eating without hunger, then you are already at your sweet spot. Now it's time for you to do your part...not eating when you aren't hungry. .

I 'interviewed' several surgeons prior to making my choice. I eliminated all but my chosen surgeon because they all had requirements that they couldn't seem to give me a good reason for...or just made up what was obviously a standard response -- 2-4 weeks liquid diet prior to surgery, 4 weeks liquid diet after surgery, lose 10% of my excess weight prior to surgery, go through a 6 week long nutrition class (that one would've cost me an additional $250 not covered by insurance), yada yada. I chose my surgeon because he had none of those requirements. Neither did my insurance. Bottom line - you need to find a surgeon you can work with. .

CM, I make no judgments and I'm not suspicious when someone says the band isn't working for them. I do take time to ask questions because one thing I have learned is that many do not know how the band operates. There's an awful lot of misinformation out there and much of it coming from the doctors! .

Sometimes it's not that people are being rude...it's that some people are 'perceiving' them to be. I take the time to be courteous, but have still been accused of being rude by 'certain' people. .

Zen, Supposedly testing has ruled out any allergy or intolerance to wheat or gluten for me but, on the advice of a friend, I recently gave up both. For as long as I can remember (and it's getting worse as I get older) I've dealt with fatigue, irritability, brain fog, general muscle aches and pains, etc. Various doctors reached the point of diagnosing chronic fatigue syndrome (what they diagnose when they've ruled everything else out). My friend said this was her life exactly until she gave up wheat and gluten on the advice of one of her friends. I was amazed at how great I began to feel within days! No more brain fog or fatigue and I'm now sleeping through the night (something I haven't done in many decades) and waking rested! .

Welcome to the list Stephanie, Jan and Misty! HB: Those quilt colors sound gorgeous! I've just picked out the fabric for my son and soon to be daughter-in-law's wedding quilt - think fall leaf type oranges with some forest green - and I'm going to have to finish it quickly because I hate the colors. She loves forest green. He's a fan of orange. Oh, excuse me metallic burnt orange. The running joke in the family is that he bought a metallic orange Element (car), a cell phone that matches (no joke) and a fiance with orangish red hair (natural, no less). Denise: I've been doing Tae Bo for a few days and I love it so hopefully I'll keep up with it and *maybe* get more than a pound a week. Melody

Hi Caitlin, I'm a year plus post surgery and I still 'want' to eat but the difference now is that I don't have that constant hunger driving me to eat so it's a bit easier to pass up the vending machine, the bakery, etc. .

Swirl, I can only speak for myself but I'm at my sweet spot and I can still eat the way I did pre-band...same foods, same quantity...if I *choose* to. However, now that the band has gotten rid of the out of control hunger, it is easier to make the right choice to put down the fork and to choose healthy food. My suggestion (if you haven't already) before you give up on the band, is to use something like Fitday.com to record everything you put in your mouth. It really is a bit horrifying to see how those calories add up...and how little difference there is between the caloric needs of our current weight vs the caloric needs of our ideal weight. For example, my caloric needs based on age, height and activity level for my current weight is about 2000 calories. The caloric needs for my ideal weight of 140 is only 1600 calories. Supposedly, if I drop my calories to 1000, I should lose 2 lb per week *BUT* in order to do that I must consistently eat 1000 calories per day (or burn off the difference with exercise). A couple days of 1000 and a few at 1600 and the weight will drop off more slowly...like 2 lbs per month. For some of us, carbs count heavily into whether or not we lose weight no matter what our calorie level. I only lose about 1 lb per week because my calories average out to about 1200 per day and I also keep my carbs down to 30...usually...some days they're up around 60 if I get a craving for winter squash. I could lose faster but this is my compromise between not wanting to diet and just giving up. It is true. The band does not work for everyone. I don't know you. I don't know what you've tried or how consistent you've been. So there are no judgments here...just my .02 on what worked for me. My turning point came when I realized that the band was not a substitute for dieting...but I look forward to the day when I can enjoy more things than I do now...within moderation...when I'm not trying to lose weight but merely maintain. Good luck to you.

The texture is a lot like mashed potatoes, and I don't mind the cauliflower taste but they're pretty good. My husband even likes them. I have to admit though for me, the Atkins revolution rolls have been my life saver. I've tweaked them somewhat but now I can have my burger on a 'bun' and still be low carb! .

I own my own business and was back at my desk the next day...for 4 hours. Then I went home and slept for 4 hours. The next day I went and worked in the warehouse (within the guidelines of my lifting restrictions). I deliberately moved more slowly and didn't do too much bending, but I was fine after that point. I recovered more quickly than most after a C-section many years ago and was told at that time by the surgeon that patients who get up and moving after surgery, recover more quickly because the increased circulation not only helps their body to heal faster but it also helps to get the anesthetics from surgery out of your system more quickly. .

When my blood sugar was still not under control, I was eating every 2.5 hours. Breakfast, lunch and dinner with a small Protein 'snack' (1 oz cheese, hard boiled egg) in between and in the evening. Now that it's controlled, I can go 4 hours before I start feeling 'normal' hunger. It's hard to know why you're hungry without knowing what you're eating. .

When I went for my psych eval, it became pretty clear that the psychiatrist was trying to ascertain whether I was a bulemic or binge eater. I'm neither but when I asked her afterward, she said it's because bulemics and binge eaters are rarely successful with any WLS *unless* they get therapy for their disorder because it's a 'mental' thing and you're right, it is possible to eat around any WLS...as evidenced by the number of bypass, sleeve and banders who either never lose the weight...or gain it all (and then some) back. .

You might get more varied advice by posting in the post-op area but here's my .02 and opinion. It's possible that you are struggling because you're swollen from your recent fill. Go easy on your band for the next couple of days. Maybe go back to liquids for a day. Every time you get stuck on something, you're just aggravating that swelling. If you're still dealing with stuck and sliming issues after a week or so of being kind to your band, then you most likely have an overfill (assuming you're doing everything else right). My surgeon said that stuck and sliming episodes should be *rare*. The first thing to keep in mind is that restriction (I dislike that word) is not physical restriction but cessation of hunger. By eliminating the hunger, *we* are better able to make the choice to restrict how much we eat. Before I understood this, I had 8.75cc in a 14cc band and was getting stuck and sliming at every meal. Now I have 6cc in my band, can eat anything I *want* without getting stuck or sliming but can go 4 hours after a meal before I start feeling normal hunger that tells me it's time to start preparing my next meal. My normal Breakfast is 2 eggs and 2 strips of bacon. lunch is 3 oz of Protein and 1/2 cup of vegies. dinner is the same but I add in 1/4 cup of starches (rice, Beans, potatoes). I avoid wheat product and sugar because both cause intense cravings for more. I avoid artificial sweeteners because they cause cravings for sweet things. I do not eat between meals. I am a diabetic so in the beginning, if I did have a day where my blood sugar was swinging, I would eat 1 oz of hard cheese or a hard boiled egg as a mid-meal or evening snack. However, as of a week or so ago I've gotten control over my diabetes to the point where I no longer have to take insulin...and my blood sugar is stable enough that I don't need that mid-meal protein snack anymore. .

Many sleeve and bypass people are going back in to get the band...because the band does what neither of those two will do...eliminates hunger. The band works by putting pressure on the vagus nerves, which tell the stomach to stop producing ghrelin, the hunger hormone. Before a meal we get normal hunger. When we're at our sweet spot (cessation of hunger), the additional pressure of the food on that banded area makes the vagus nerves tell the stomach to stop producing ghrelin...and the hunger is abated for 4-5 hours. The cessation of hunger helps us choose to put down the fork, choose the right food, choose not to eat between meals. Sure it's hard work to make that choice, but the band is not a magic bullet. Bypass and sleeve aren't either. All you have to do is go to the various boards where the predominant weight loss method is sleeve or bypass to see how many of these people *never* lose all their weight. They only lose what they would have as a result of surgery. In the case of bypass, they expect 2/3 of the excess weight to be lost as a result of surgery. The rest is up to the patient. It's rather horrifying how many bypass patients actually regain all their weight plus more. Ask them why and they say 'hunger'...because bypass does not control the hunger. With vertical sleeve, they remove the stomach that produces the ghrelin but within a year of surgery, the body learns how to start producing it again...but the experts believe by a year post surgery the person will have lost the vast majority of their excess weight making them healthier than they were prior to the surgery. In both of these surgeries, there is low expectation for the person to ever achieve total weight loss. I think if you look at the statistics (wishing I had kept the link to the website but I'm still looking for it), you'll find that at the end of 5 years, the prognosis for bypass and sleeve is no better than band. It's just that the initial loss is greater. .

Unfortunately, it can be defeated. I hang out on another board that is a bypass board and it's frightening how many of these people only lose the weight they have as a result of surgery (2/3 is the expected) and never lose the remaining weight. Worse, how many have regained the weight plus more. From what I can tell by their posts it's because they expected the band to control how much they eat and what they ate. To a certain extent it does but self-control still comes into play. .

Yes and it is becoming quite common according to my surgeon. The reason is that the bypass does nothing to deal with the 'hunger'. The band works by putting pressure on the vagus nerves, which then tell the stomach to stop producing ghrelin, the hunger hormone. When we get to our sweet spot, the additional pressure of food in our pouch on top of that band, sends the message to the stomach. Then we're able to go 4 hours or so until our next meal. With bypass, the stomach is still producing ghrelin which means the person is still 'hungry'. Same with the vertical sleeve. They remove the part of the stomach that produces the ghrelin, but the they're finding that about a year after surgery, the body has found a way to start producing it again, so the hunger is back. Those with cooperative insurances are able to go in and get the band. Which tells me that the band should be the first stop in the WLS. .

Something to consider when thinking about getting a revision to a vertical sleeve or a bypass. In both of these surgeries, the stomach continues to produce ghrelin (bypass) or learns how to start producing it again after the stomach is removed (vertical sleeve). They are beginning to see a number of bypass and sleeve patients come back for a band in order to control this hunger. In the case of bypass and sleeve, you still have to control what you put in your mouth and how much. Neither surgery absolves the patient of responsibility. If the posts on a few other forums (mainly bypass and sleeve people) are any indication, many of these people only lose the weight they would have as a result of surgery but never lose the rest. Quite a few end up gaining the weight back. Yes there are some successful people, but if you read their posts it's because they understand that they still have to use self-control and put in the hard work. WLS...whether band, bypass or sleeve...is not a magic bullet. At some point *we* have to put in the hard work and if we don't/won't, well then we'll just have to get used to being fat for the rest of our lives. .

No...your bitterness read that into it. All one has to do is read the posts on the LBT to know that many people have the wrong expectations of the band. They *expect* the band to stop them from overeating or choosing the wrong foods and that is not what the band does. The band, with the addition of the food sitting in our pouch, puts pressure on the vagus nerves, which tell the stomach to stop producing ghrelin, the hunger hormone so that we can go 4 hours or so without being hungry. We still have to *choose* to put the fork down and not overeat just because we can. We still have to *choose* not to eat the wrong foods. We still have to *choose* not to graze. Yes, we still have to use self-control *BUT* if the band is doing its job in removing the constant hunger, our self-control stands a chance. Yes, there are people who never get that cessation of hunger...maybe even when they are overfilled...but I also think that a lot of people who claim the band is a failure really don't understand what the band's role...and what their role...is in the whole process. If someone truly believes the band has failed them, then I would suggest they get a *complete* unfill. They'll either find no difference in their eating...or discover that the band really was working...just not according to their previous expectations. .